Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop

Friday, January 31, 2014

Happy Farmgirl Friday! Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop #143. 143 weeks sure sounds like a long time but whose counting? We can't wait to meet here every week so we can catch up with our farmgirl blogging friends from the far corners of the world. This time of year is always exciting. As the days grow lighter and longer there's lots of seed talk, which is basically the same thing as pillow talk to a farmgirl! Whisper sweet nothings in my ear about GMO FREE, heirloom and organic seeds of any kind and my heart starts to race, my pupils dilate and I begin fantasizing about plowing up some poor unsuspecting patch of lawn before the ground even has a chance to thaw out!

Brag
a little ( or a lot ) about your farmgirl talents! Include lots of
photos of your farm, crafts, animals, quilts, home decor projects and
thrifty make overs, your backyard garden, chicken coop, recipes, studio
or workshop. You get the idea! Please include the
Farmgirl Friday button ( or link back here ) in your post and remember
to share this hop with all of your blogging friends!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Happy Tuesday friends! Is everyone staying warm out there in blog-land?

It's been mighty cold here on Cape Cod Bay this past week. Perfect weather for staying inside and setting up shop. For Christmas this year, Santa brought Boz and I an Epson Artisan 1430 Wide Format photo printer so we can print our own lab quality images from our home studio.

I've been stocking the shelves of my NEW Etsy shop Dandelion House Day's with images from our gardens and it's FINALLY launch time!

Dandelion House Day's was born out of my
love for capturing daily images of my garden season to season.

Welcome to my garden of flower photos! I
love to garden and I am passionate about flowers of all kinds. I
especially love growing annuals for cutting fresh bouquets to decorate
my home and share with friends and family. My shop is a result of the
many photos I have taken over the last several years as I've chronicled
my garden in progress. I hope you enjoy your walk amongst the flowers and "
pick " some to take home with you!

" If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. " Budda

There is a life-force in all living things. Nothing brings us closer to
this common energy we all share than gardening. Let my flower images elevate the "good vibrations " in your home!

* All images
are made to order in my home studio with an Epson Artisan 1430 Wide Format
Photo Printer on archival quality premium photo papers.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Welcome back to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop now it our # 142 nd farm-filled week.

Each week just gets better and better. The more you share the more we learn and become inspired to try new recipes, skills and projects. And that makes you want to chit-chat with like-minded folks about what you're up to, right? That's the beauty of blogging and our NEW Facebook page called

Brag a little ( or a lot ) about your farmgirl talents! Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals, quilts, home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden, chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea! Please include the Farmgirl Friday button ( or link back here ) in your post and remember to share this hop with all of your blogging friends!

Enter up to three entries per hop!

DON'T BE SHY~

Be sure to leave a note if you're new to the hop! If you As always, thank you for your continued participation! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! See you on the hop!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Brr...Who else is buried in snow tonight? It finally quit snowing late this afternoon on the south coast of Boston. As I type it's a balmy 10 degrees outside with an expected overnight low of 4. It's a good night for an extra blanket and I just might wear my sox to bed! The cold weather doesn't seem to phase The Cottage Hens. When I went out to refresh their water today they were cackling happy sounds inside the coop.

It was the usual banter, Liza Jane was bossing the other girls around and pushing her way through them so she could be first in line for fresh water.

Penny decided to jump out and have a little look around but she didn't stay outside for long. Just long enough to peck at the snow and fluff her feathers a little.

Then she jumped into the coop for the night. The sun was going down as I said goodnight and tucked the girls in for a long, cold winters night. I heard a some clucking and rustling in the hen-house as I walked away. I'd bet my first laid egg it was the nightly ritual of jockeying for position on the highest roosting bar.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Are you ready to dig in to this weeks entries? I sure am! I don't know about you but now the the holiday decorations are down and put away I'm beginning to notice several of the left over projects that got put on hold when fall arrived. Most of mine involve giving some walls and rooms a fresh coat of paint and revamping some pieces of furniture in my bedroom and dining room.

Some of our clever and crafty farmgirls got me feeling inspired to get going! If you didn't get by to Heaven's Walk blog be sure to stop back there this week and check out her fabulous tutorial on making a prairie shutter from scratch. Her beautiful home is filled with charming decor sure to keep you coming back for more..

If this is what heaven looks like, I'm in! Also, check out The Chick n' Coop for her FRUGAL farmhouse COUNTRY- FIDE bathroom re-DO! Here's a peak at the fabric she chose!

Purty, purty...

Heidi, Dolly, Debbie and I love to see what you're up to from week to week so let's get going!

Brag a little ( or a lot ) about your
farmgirl talents! Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals, quilts,
home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden,
chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea! Please include the Farmgirl Friday button ( or link back here ) in your
post and remember to share this hop with all of your blogging friends! Finally, Enter up to three entries per hop!

DON'T BE SHY~

Be sure to leave a note if you're new to the hop! If you haven't clicked
that follow button yet, please join us and be sure to stop by our FACEBOOK page and like us there too!
As always, thank you for your continued participation! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! See you on the hop!

Friday, January 10, 2014

It's time to get the kettle whistling, find your comfy chair with your laptop or i pad and call on your farmgirl ( and boy ) friends from far and wide!

Last weeks hop ran the gamete! There were many top ten posts for 2013. It's always good practice to take some time to review and celebrate last years accomplishments. I'll be sharing more fun and creative ways to do this in a future post, but for now let's just give ourselves a pat on the back for all we accomplished and shared in 2013!

With a new year also comes new farm babies! Congratulations is in order for the new baby goats that were born or are on the way!

And, we can always count on seeing homesteading goals for the coming year! Planning anything new is always so exciting isn't it? Speaking of planning, I took a fabulous virtual workshop this week with Laura West Center for Joyful Business and I learned a brand new CREATIVE way of planning out my year! I'll have a full post on Monday and tell you all about it with pictures and everything!

I don't want to keep you another minute! It's time to link up for your weekly dose of farmgirl soul-food!

1.)
Write a post about your farmgirl lifestyle and brag a little about your
farmgirl talents while your at it! Share what being a farmgirl means to
you. Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals, quilts,
home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden,
chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The Cottage Hens went out for a stroll in the backyard today. The two bossy girls Penny and Liza Jane scoped things out and the rest of the girls fell in line single file. I don't often let them out of the run to explore because of wondering neighborhood dogs but every now and then I spring them form the chicken coop for an airing off!

Friday, January 3, 2014

Dear friends!
Welcome back to the FIRST Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop of 2014! Happy New Year!
What an amazing year we had of learning and sharing together! Are you ready to start the new year FRESH? Heidi, Dolly, Debbie and I are raring to go! We can't wait to see what you'll be sharing with us each week going forward.
What can you expect from us in the coming year?
MORE GIVEAWAYS from our generous sponsors, more crafting and DIY ideas, delicious, down home recipes and more encouragement to get your inner farmgirl cracking on all those pent up creative ideas she's been keeping to herself!

For the first time this year it's time to link up for your weekly dose of farmgirl soul food!

1.)
Write a post about your farmgirl lifestyle and brag a little about your
farmgirl talents while your at it! Share what being a farmgirl means to
you. Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals, quilts,
home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden,
chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Are you feeling HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY about the coming year? I sure hope so! I've never been one for making New Year resolutions, but as the years pile up I do try to tick off a few of my bucket list items every year. Here are just a few of the things I hope to accomplish in 2014.

This is my year to " DO ME" better! I know that's a popular buzz phrase right now and it can sound sort of shallow at first, but it's powerful if you really take it to heart and just go for the purest, funnest and most creative ways to do it! Imagine what the world would be like if we all really dug deep to try and figure our what that means exactly for each one of us. I can imagine more kindness, beauty, peace and personal happiness for everyone. A safer world, a GREENER world and time to explore unknown places inside and out. If we could all just " Do Me " a little bit better the whole world would smile don't cha think?

So, here are a few of the things I hope to do that will satisfy some of the deep yearnings in my soul and inspire those around me to do the same. Maybe I should break it down in compartments:

FAMILY: Part of doing me better is taking care of my family...Being a wife to my handsome Yankee is the greatest joy for me every year. It helps to have a sweet husband. That makes it easy. If you don't, well that's another story and that's not easy at all. I guess we've been luck. Going on 27 years together. Not always easy, but like all married folks, we've learned how to navigate through rought waters and rely each others strengths. We've got two budding song writers in the house that are anxious get out there and show the world what they've got. I see a lot of driving in my future getting them to and from open mike night's and other performances. They are much braver than their dear mom... I would NEVER sing in front of a crowd!!! Mainly because I can't sing a lick!

HEALTH AND FITNESS: Our 16 year old daughter informed me that we will be getting a gym membership and eating healthier this year. Her determination is just what this happy, comfy, chubby, homebody ( but still plenty sassy ) mommy, blogger, needs to get me moving this winter! Hey, it was her idea to get chickens and that went well!

CREATIVITY: Santa gave my hubby and I a brand new wide-format photo printer for Christmas! Isn't that exciting? I'm currently setting up Etsy Shops for my husbands photography and mine too! I'll keep you posted for the launch!

What would life be without BIG DREAMS? You know, the kind of dreams that stretch you beyond your limits. The kind that make you scratch your head and wonder. How would I ever be able to do that?

DANDELION HOUSE: Blogging has certainly helped me re-define my career path. Nothing gets to the heart of ones creativity than writing about what you know and love on a regular basis. And, to have friends ( like you ) that follow along with you makes it so much more fun and rewarding. It can get a girl thinking, hey, maybe I'm on to something here! This year I will be working on branding Dandelion House. I dream of being able to offer products such as calenders, journals, cards, fabrics, dishes, ORGANIC LINENS and home goods inspired by VINTAGE WARES and life here on our little suburban homestead. Wish me luck!!! I also want to thank my sponsors who help to keep this blog going! Keep your eyes on Farmmade in 2014! The online market place for homemade farm goods!

GARDEN: MORE FLOWERS, MORE FRUITS AND VEGGIES, ANOTHER GARDEN TOUR. NUFF SAID?

VINTAGE SHOPS: I opened Burlap and Bling ( my brick and mortar vintage shop ) and My Vintage Homestead on Etsy in 2013 and oh what fun diving into antiquing, thrifting, and creating fun and funky items for my shops has been! I will continue this adventure in the coming year. It really fills the need I have to always be refurbishing or re- imagining things I pick up on my picking travels. I went to the Vintage Bazarr in September and was so inspired by the cleverness of each booth I visited! I love being a part of the vintage movement that is swelling up across the world right now!

WRITING: This is the year I will write a book! I'm researching self-publishing avenue's for a Farmgirls' ( and boys ) Can Cook Book. i envision a cook book filled with various recipes from YOUR homestead kitchens...I know we have our pinterest board, but wouldn't it be neat to have a HARD COPY cook book with YOURE beautiful photos and delicious recipes? Besides, someone has to let young homemakers in on the secret that it isn't all that difficult or expensive to cook from scratch with wholesome ( and local ) ingredients! I figure it might as well be us! I'll be asking for submissions from you soon! STAY TUNED!!!

MARYJANESFARM: You would have to drag me away from my writing post at MaryJanesFarm with a back hoe to get me to quit the farm! Writing my twice monthly blogs and the Girl Genius Feature in her magazine is one of the greatest blessings ( besides meeting all of you ) that blogging has brought to my life. We farmgirl bloggers get new blog headers this year! This one's mine... So MaryJanesFarm...

I love my writing alias MJF Beach Farmgirl and GIRL GENIUS. They are forever a part of my farmgirl heart. MaryJanes is my middle- age mentor and such and inspiration for natural healthy living and following your own farmgirl heart road right to dreams come true! Just look at her...She's 60 and just the cutest thing!!! She's more than a Savvy business woman too!

Oh, I forgot one more thing:

FUN: Not that all the other stuff isn't FUN, but I'm going on a trail ride this year if I have to steal a horse to do it!!! Will you come visit me in jail? I hope they have WI-fi!!!

Geez, I didn't intend to ramble on at a Sunday's drive pace here, but
now that I've gabbed and gushed my hopes and dreams for the
coming year I hope you'll leave me a note and tell me what your plans
are to " do you " in 2014!

Copywrite

All contents and photos on this blog ( and across my social media platforms)are property of Dandelion House, unless noted with corresponding links or recognition for photos or text contributions.Any sharing of images or text requires my permission and a link back is always nice too. Please enjoy, share and follow.